PRESS RELEASE | Oct. 18, 2016
October 18: Military airstrikes continue against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq
CJTFOIR

October 18, 2016
Release # 20161018-01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOUTHWEST ASIA – On Oct. 17, Coalition military forces conducted 25 strikes against ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes using attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets. Additionally in Iraq, Coalition military forces conducted seven strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery against ISIL targets.

The following is a summary of the strikes conducted against ISIL since the last press release:

Syria

* Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed six oil well heads, two oil tanker trucks, and an oil pump jack.
* Near Al Shadaddi, eight strikes engaged eight ISIL tactical units and destroyed seven fighting positions and two vehicles.
* Near Ayn Isa, one strike engaged an ISIL staging area.
* Near Iblib, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
* Near Mar’a, four strikes engaged four ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions and a vehicle.
* Near Palmyra, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.

Iraq

* Near Al Qaim, one strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.
* Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and two staging areas; destroyed 10 mortar systems, five artillery systems, four ISIL-held buildings, four fighting positions, four vehicles, two supply caches, two repeater tower generators, a VBIED facility, and a VBIED; and suppressed four tactical units and three rocket positions.
* Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and a mortar position; destroyed an ISIL-held building, a mortar system, an oil tanker truck, and a rocket-propelled grenade; and damaged a vehicle.

Strike assessments are based on initial reports. All aircraft returned to base safely.

A strike, as defined in the CJTF releases, means one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative effect for that location. So having a single aircraft deliver a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of buildings and vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making that facility (or facilities) harder or impossible to use. Accordingly, CJTF-OIR does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. The information used to compile the daily strike releases is based on ‘Z’ or Greenwich Mean Time.

Ground-based artillery fired in counter-fire or in fire support to maneuver roles are not classified as a strike as defined by CJTF-OIR.

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community.

The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the group’s ability to project terror and conduct operations. Coalition nations which have conducted strikes in Iraq include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Coalition nations which have conducted strikes in Syria include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.